tintinnabulation

English

WOTD – 18 March 2006

Etymology

Noun of action from tintinnabulate, from Latin tintinnabulum (“a bell”), from tintinō, a reduplicated form of tinniō (“ring, jingle”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌtɪntɪnˌnæbjəˈleɪʃən/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌtɪntɪnˌnæbjʊˈleɪʃən/

  • Audio (Southern England)

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Noun

tintinnabulation (countable and uncountable, plural tintinnabulations)

1. A tinkling sound, as of a bell or of breaking glass.
   • 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth (hardback), Duckworth, page 20:

     Across the darkling meadows, from the heights of Hare, the tintinnabulation sounded mournfully, penetrating the curl-wreathed tympanums of Lady Parvula de Panzoust.

2. The ringing of bells.
   • 1849, Edgar Allan Poe, The Bells:

     Keeping time, time, time,
     In a sort of Runic rhyme,
     To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
     From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
     Bells, bells, bells —
     From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

Related terms

• tintinnabulate
• tintinnabulum

Translations

tinkling sound

• Bulgarian: камбанен звън m (kambanen zvǎn)
• Finnish: kilinä (fi), helinä (fi)
• French: tintinnabulement (fr) m
• Latin: tinnitus m
• Spanish: tintineo (es) m, tañido (es) m